Iraqi MPs Urge Govt. to Deploy Troops to Defiant Kurdistan RegionIraqi legislators have called on central government to deploy troops to areas disputed with Kurds as the warn-torn country’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region is holding an independence referendum in defiance of strong objections from Baghdad and the international community to scrap the vote.

Axis of Resistances refers to countries and movements with common political goal, i.e., resisting against Zionist regime, America and other western powers. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Palestine are considered as the Axis of Resistance.

Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region, which spans adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are an Iranian people and speak the Kurdish languages, which form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian branch of Iranian languages.

Alwaght- Turkish lawmakers brawled in parliament amid debates over a controversial bill on constitutional amendments, which would expand the powers of the president.

Scuffles broke out on Wednesday and MPs got engaged in physical violence, pushing each other and exchanging blows when ruling party members displayed the opposition legislators votes in what they said should have been a secret ballot.

The move highlights the ruling party’s pressure on its lawmakers to vote in favor of the amendments, and not independently, the opposition lawmakers said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the AKP’s founder, has long pushed for the constitutional amendments, arguing that a strong presidency will make Turkey stronger.

Last December, the AKP presented a bill to the parliament, which would change the country’s constitution and expand presidential powers.

The package would also bring structural changes to Turkey’s security system and judiciary. If adopted, the changes must then be put to a national referendum before becoming law.

The drive for the constitutional change and expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers come as the AKP has 317 of 550 seats in the parliament.

Calling a referendum on the constitution in Turkey requires 330 votes, which means the governing party needs more than a dozen votes from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The Turkish legislature’s second- and third-biggest parties, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), both oppose the intended constitutional reforms.

Critics of the constitutional changes say a presidential system heralds totalitarianism as it places too much power in the hands of the president.

On Tuesday, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the CHP, leader said the legislators who ratify the bill will be betraying the public, adding, “I call out to all citizens. If you respect what is right, you will oppose this constitution.”